Vietnam, South Africa to deepen oil and renewable ties

THE HANOI TIMES — Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on South Africa’s National Oil Company to partner with Petrovietnam in key areas including offshore oil and gas exploration, petrochemical refining, energy development, renewables, investment in promising regions and workforce training.

The Vietnamese government leader shared this view during a meeting with Brenda Moagi, Chairwoman of the Board and Sesakho Magadla, CEO of Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA), on November 21 (local time) while attending the G20 Summit program and bilateral activities in South Africa.

Prime Minister Chinh said that during this visit to South Africa, the two countries plan to elevate their relationship and that strong political ties provide a solid foundation for expanding economic cooperation.

He noted that cooperation in oil, gas and energy plays an important role in supporting fast and sustainable growth in both countries.

Chinh welcomed South Africa’s establishment of PetroSA in May, calling it an important step for the country’s energy sector.

He added that Petrovietnam is Vietnam’s key enterprise in industry, energy and oil and gas services.

According to Chinh, Petrovietnam has extensive experience and manages the full oil and gas value chain, from exploration and production to processing, transport, storage, distribution and technical services. At the same time, the company is actively advancing energy transition efforts with a focus on green hydrogen, offshore wind and LNG.

He asked PetroSA to work with Petrovietnam in potential areas such as offshore oil and gas exploration, petrochemical refining, oil and gas services, energy industry development, wind and solar power, investment in promising regions and workforce training.

Chinh invited the company’s leaders to visit Vietnam to work directly with partners and move toward concrete cooperation agreements.

For their part, leaders of PetroSA expressed strong interest and readiness to work with Vietnam. They welcomed the Prime Minister’s proposals and said they will discuss them with Petrovietnam to move toward signing a memorandum of understanding that supports quick, stable and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Brenda Moagi said South Africa’s power grid connects with the wider region, which creates many opportunities for cooperation.

She noted that offshore wind and oil and gas exploration are areas where the two sides can begin working together immediately and that support from Petrovietnam would be very valuable for PetroSA.